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| Ohio Gov. John Kasich |
It’s just the right thing to do.— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) December 19, 2018
https://t.co/xQTWzRYsrO
This leadership has never been more important. At a time when the basic rights of transgender people to exist in public, to serve in our military, and to access basic health care are at risk, we applaud Governor Kasich for his recognition of our shared humanity with common-sense protections.
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| Ohio Gov. John Kasich |
The very unpopular Governor of Ohio (and failed presidential candidate) @JohnKasich hurt Troy Balderson’s recent win by tamping down enthusiasm for an otherwise great candidate. Even Kasich’s Lt. Governor lost Gov. race because of his unpopularity. Credit to Troy on the BIG WIN!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2018
— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) August 13, 2018
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| Ohio Gov. John Kasich |
Ohio Gov. John Kasich plans to withdraw from the 2016 Republican presidential race on Wednesday, becoming the latest candidate with much-vaunted executive experience to abandon his bid for the White House, according to reports.
Kasich was the final Republican challenger to Donald Trump after Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) suspended his campaign following Trump’s victory in Indiana on Tuesday. The only nominating contest Kasich won was in his home state of Ohio, but he had hoped to force a contested Republican convention and earn the nomination there.
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| Ohio Gov. John Kasich |
Kelly Bryan, 62, asked Kasich the question at a forum hosted by the Commonwealth of California Club, telling the Ohio governor, “Gay people are human beings and not a lifestyle choice. Please respond without prayer being an answer.”
“In terms of me, I don’t believe in discrimination,” Kasich said. “I think there is a balance, however, between discrimination and people’s religious liberties. But I think we should just try to, like, take a chill pill, relax, and try to get along with one another a little bit better instead of trying to write some law to solve a problem that doesn’t frankly exist in big enough numbers to justify more lawmaking.”
Bryan responded by saying Republicans “don’t believe in marriage equality.”
“Well, no, they don’t tell me what to do about the platform. The Republican Party is my vehicle, not my master,” Kasich replied. “I have a right to define the Republican Party, too.”
Kasich added: “I believe in traditional marriage, (but) I just went to a gay wedding,” Kasich responded. “My wife and I went to the wedding. It was great, it was fine.”
During a rally in Rhode Island, the Republican presidential frontrunner said that the Ohio governor should learn from Trump's children, whom Trump has urged to eat modest portions of food.
"Did you see him? He has a news conference all the time when he's eating. I have never seen a human being eat in such a disgusting fashion," Trump said of Kasich.
He continued: "I'd say, 'Children, small, little bites.' This guy takes a pancake and he's shoving it in his mouth. It's disgusting. Do you want this guy for your president?"
“John Kasich can’t have it both ways. Either you’re for discrimination, or you’re against it. To tell LGBT victims of discrimination to ‘just relax’ and ‘get over it’ is disrespectful, outrageous, and not the kind of leadership expected from a credible presidential candidate. Kasich can continue trying to put a friendly face on his party’s discriminatory policies, but the fact remains that his own state remains a minefield for LGBT people who can still be fired for being who they are. As governor, Kasich has done nothing to help end discrimination against LGBT employees, and he was the final obstacle preventing marriage equality in Ohio before the Supreme Court’s decision. Trump and Cruz may make a lot of people look reasonable by comparison, but Kasich is no ‘moderate.’ He’s certainly no friend to the LGBT community.” – TJ Helmstetter, DNC spokesperson
“There could be an effort to pass a Constitutional Amendment. I’m not for doing it. I’m for moving on,” the Republican presidential hopeful said Thursday in a town hall airing on MSNBC. “Exactly where it is now, I’m fine with it,” he said when asked if there are any laws that should be changed to address the issue.
In a landmark decision last year, the Supreme Court ruled same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. Many in the once crowded Republican presidential field opposed the ruling, and while Kasich affirmed he believes marriage should remain between a man and woman, he told Matthews that everyone should be “a bit more tolerant.”
The Ohio governor often talks about how he recently attended a friend’s same-sex marriage ceremony. “I don’t think it’s right and the wedding that I went to, they know that I don’t agree with them,” Kasich said. Asked by Matthews what gay couples who love each other should do, Kasich said: “They should love one another. That’s the end of it.”
New York’s 2.7 million registered Republican voters can break the fever that torments their party by voting for principled, pragmatic conservatism in the April 19 presidential primary.
By his record of accomplishment in public life, by the credibility of his plans, by a temperament that marries a small government outlook with can-do effectiveness, Ohio Gov. John Kasich is highly suited to carry the GOP banner into the general election.
Kasich’s qualifications are all the clearer — screamingly so — when matched against those of competitors Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.
In fact, both men would be disastrous as President — Cruz because he is an absolutist ideologue, Trump because he suffers from the irreparable, disqualifying defect of being Trump.
Campaigns reveal character. Event by outrageous event, this very strange race has exposed Trump the man to be a self-loving egotist, demagogue and bully who suffers from severe deficits of wisdom and maturity.
Only the pettiest of individuals would disseminate an unflattering photograph of a competitor’s wife to boast that his spouse was more attractive.
Only the most boorish would reference the size of his genitalia during a presidential debate.
Only the childishly cruel would make fun of someone’s disability.
Only the most thoughtlessly sexist would call for punishing women who have had abortions if abortion were ever criminalized.
Only those who are given to dividing between an us and a them would smear entire religions or nationalities.
As a mature, grounded politician, Kasich competes well against them both. Although he was largely overtalked in debates that were staged like gladiatorial contests, Kasich has nonetheless drawn the favorable attention of voters across the country.
Kasich avoided getting into the specifics of the “bathroom” bill, which––in addition to rejecting anti-discrimination law––demands that everyone must use the bathroom of the gender on their birth certificate.
He complained, “Why do we need to write a law every time we turn around in this country?”, and said, “Chill out, get over it if you have a disagreement with somebody.” (It’s not clear if he was specifically referring to the people behind the anti-trans legislation.)
"If I see discrimination in anything, like I said earlier, I'm willing to do what I can," Kasich said. "Whether it's executive order or legislation. That's fine with me. As for marriage equality - let me be clear I'm for traditional marriage but I've been to my first gay wedding. A friend of mine is gay and got married. I went home and said to my wife, we've been invited to Steve's wedding and you know, said this is going to be unusual for us. She said, well I'm going. Are you going? And I went. And I had a great time. And there was great champagne."
The student pressed back, "I don't think that's enough for you to say you've been to a gay wedding."
"Well, we're not changing any laws," Kasich told him. "We're not changing. We're not going to allow discrimination on this."
"So the Supreme Court upheld marriage equality," the student noted. "Does that mean you would go out of your way to protect that right?"
Kasich ended the conversation. "Look, we're not changing any laws," he said. "The court has spoken. That's the end of it."
“The court has spoken, the court has ruled as everyone knows. I believe in traditional marriage but the court has ruled.
"When we see these kind of battles going on I get a little bit afraid that it turns people off to the idea of faith in God, what it means to be a Christian. For me, it’s given me a solid foundation to deal with the strong winds in life, to be a better person, a better guy.
"Now I respect the fact that the lady doesn’t agree, but she’s also a government employee. She’s not running a church. I wouldn’t force this on a church but in terms of her responsibility I think she has to comply. I don’t like the fact that she’s sitting in a jail—that’s absurd as well—but I think she should follow the law.”
BREAKING: Ohio Gov. John Kasich joins 2016 GOP race, the 16th Republican to join the contest: http://t.co/1VrYfWiWDO
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 21, 2015